Go Unlimited with Magzter GOLD

Go Unlimited with Magzter GOLD

Get unlimited access to 9,500+ magazines, newspapers and Premium stories for just

$149.99
 
$74.99/Year

Try GOLD - Free

Your office could be Singapore's next big health intervention

The Straits Times

|

September 17, 2025

Helping people become healthier when they work should be the next priority for Singapore public health.

- Teo Yik Ying

Your office could be Singapore's next big health intervention

Picture two workers in Singapore. Both spend decades at their jobs, clocking long hours and juggling family responsibilities.

One reaches retirement overweight, diabetic, and exhausted, having skipped regular checkups and carried years of stress. The other leaves the workforce healthier than when they started, having benefitted from regular health screenings at work, subsidised healthy meals in the canteen, access to mental health support, and a workplace culture that valued rest and balance.

The difference between these two stories is not luck or genetics, but whether the workplace was intentionally designed to promote health and well-being.

This is precisely the opportunity before us. At the National Day Rally, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong declared that Singapore must aspire to be a “we-first” society, where institutions, businesses and communities pursue success together in ways that help all Singaporeans thrive. This vision reframes public policy around collective well-being as a core national priority.

In practice, this ethos already underpins several recent initiatives.

Age Well SG was launched as a coordinated strategy led by the Ministry of Health (MOH) alongside the ministries of National Development and Transport. It rethinks neighbourhoods, transport, and home environments through a whole-of-society lens that lets seniors live independently, stay socially connected, and receive care in the community.

Grow Well SG likewise brings together MOH with the ministries of Education and Social and Family Development to build healthy habits in children and adolescents, mobilising schools, preschools, health providers, and community partners.

Together with Healthier SG, these initiatives sketch a life course approach to health promotion and disease prevention, from the earliest years to the sunset years.

MORE STORIES FROM The Straits Times

The Straits Times

WP will focus on checking Govt’s policies to hold it accountable: Pritam

The Workers’ Party will primarily focus on checking the Government's policies and actions in this term of Parliament, said Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh.

time to read

3 mins

September 23, 2025

The Straits Times

The Straits Times

Munch on meat and mangoes in Miyazaki

The prefecture is home to the world's most expensive mangoes and is where tourists can try chicken sashimi

time to read

5 mins

September 23, 2025

The Straits Times

Too few will benefit from WP's proposed needs-based COE system: Minister

A needs-based certificate of entitlement (COE) system sounds attractive, but in practice will be subjective, divisive and benefit too few, said Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow.

time to read

3 mins

September 23, 2025

The Straits Times

The Straits Times

Singapore set to impose targeted sanctions, condemns Israel's actions in Palestine

Unlawful denial of humanitarian aid to Gaza civilians completely unacceptable: Vivian

time to read

5 mins

September 23, 2025

The Straits Times

The Straits Times

RAIL DREAMS

An overnight journey on luxury sleeper train The Seven Stars is worth saving up $5,900 for

time to read

4 mins

September 23, 2025

The Straits Times

The Straits Times

An emboldened Putin goes after Nato

Moscow’s plan is not to launch another war. Instead, it is seeking through airspace violations to discredit and ultimately destroy the alliance’s security arrangements in Europe.

time to read

7 mins

September 23, 2025

The Straits Times

The Straits Times

The UN's grim future

Going rogue, decay or Trumpification.

time to read

7 mins

September 23, 2025

The Straits Times

Yufuin - a picturesque hot spring haven

Nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains, the hot spring town of Yufuin, located a 90-minute drive from Kyushu's gateway city of Fukuoka, is a leisurely beauty with a quirky European vibe.

time to read

4 mins

September 23, 2025

The Straits Times

The Straits Times

Consultations for next land transport master plan to start in next few weeks: Jeffrey Siow

Public consultations on Singapore’s next land transport master plan will kick off in the next few weeks, with more people set to have a say in how the next bound of the Republic’s transport future will be shaped.

time to read

3 mins

September 23, 2025

The Straits Times

MPs raise concerns over jobs, Al disruption and support for caregivers

Youth anxieties about getting a job feature strongly in MPs' speeches during debate

time to read

4 mins

September 23, 2025

Listen

Translate

Share

-
+

Change font size